What a Wonderful World: Lombok

Last March was a very hectic month for me. handling groups weren't this stressful till my staff taking 2weeks leave just to celebrate his birthday in Italy. wahhh, i'm so so so envy! taking the business class on Emirates Airline some more. whooaaaaaa again, i'm so jelly! earlier last month, we handled Tun Musa's foundation to Siem Reap for their annual trip. and then, a Japanese company which is based in Malaysia to Lombok for their very-first-time company trip.

honestly, Lombok never be in my travelling destination list. i dunno know why.. my boss has been there last 2010 just to hike the Rinjani Mountain; the second highest mountain in Indonesia. i still remember, during that time, my boss insisted to take Garuda Indonesia instead of Merpati Air to Mataram (the old airport in Lombok). he told me "Merpati Air tu kapal terbang bertampal2 dgn tape, who dare enough to use that scary aircraft". that time, Air Asia doesn't fly to Lombok yet. last year, November 2015 to be exact; both Lombok Airport and Bali Airport were closed for 3-5 days due to the volcanic ashes from the Mount Baru Jari, a sub-volcano of Rinjani Mountain. hmmm still active

have you ever read about the blogger who been cheated by the local people in Lombok early this year? here's the link. same thing happened to my staff during his previous visit to Lombok but not to that extend. we won the 3D2N Lombok package during a product briefing organized by Tourism Indonesia, he redeemed the package but unfortunately the local operator who are supposed to provide the services didn't deliver as promised. what an unlucky trip, plus on the day he supposed to return back to KL, Garuda Indonesia skids off the runaway makes the airport closed for a week. 0.0" oh my goodness! when such incident happened, he and his partner already checked in and waiting for boarding. then, they stranded there in Lombok for couple days till he made his own way to Bali by 1hour boat and took a flight back to KL from Bali Denpasar Airport.

Lombok Island is located at West Nusa Tenggara, in between of Bali Island and Sumbawa Island. even though these two islands, Bali and Lombok are located next to each other, surprisingly 80% from the total population in Bali are Hindu while 80% population in Lombok are Muslim (Sasak tribe). even more surprised, Gili Trawangan, one of the small islands (Gili means Island) in Lombok is more famous than Lombok main island itself. most people (yeap, i'm pointing to you, Yda and Nadia.. haha no offense) came to Lombok just for the Gili Trawangan. Spending their 2-3 nights stay in Gili Trawangan, without bother to visit other part in Lombok such as Kuta Beach (not Kuta Beach in Bali), Tanjung An, Sasak Village, Sukarare Village etc. well hey, for your information... Tanjung An is more beautiful than Gili Trawangan. i can guarantee you this one. take a look at this photo which i took by myself (no edited, cause i'm so lazy to do any kind of editing)

Tanjung Aan, Lombok

Turtle Island and the beauty of Indian Ocean... this is what we called "crystal clear water". in love with the color tones. yes, we can swimming here at Tanjung An, but apparently during my visit, it was 3pm. panass wehh Kuta Lombok Beach also not so bad, much much better than Kuta Beach in Bali. no offense ya Balinese people, i've been to Bali thrice.

During my visit to Gili Trawangan last 26th March 2016; we took a slow boat from Teluk Nare Harbour (closer than Bangsal Jetty) straight to Mawar Cafe. yeap, disembark on the beach in front of Mawar Cafe, not at any jetty at Gili Trawangan, or i must say a platform. i don't really like the 'boat parking' concept in Gili Trawangan. for me, it's kinda dangerous and i'm kinda shocked. i've been to Redang, Tioman, Phi Phi Island, Krabi, Payar Island, Manukan Island and lots more but they will never allow either the boatman to steer nearby snorkeling area and people also cannot swim or snorkeling at/nearby boat traffic or cross the restricted area.

just my two cents.. however, the water at Gili Trawangan is also super clear, we can view the coral from the boat. there's NO para sailing / paraw sailing / helmet diving / banana boat etc etc etc. for better snorkeling experience in Gili, i would rather to take the glass bottom boat around Rp50,000-100,000 per person per trip (minimum 10 person). the boatman will sail to those 3 Gilis, Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air; and we can request to stop at the coral spot - snorkeling at the open sea is way better than seashore. and if you wish to have an island round trip or to go to the famous "Ombak Sunset Swing" at the west part of the Trawangan Island, please take the horse cart ride (quite bumpy and also known as "cidomo") around Rp250,000 per cart per ride (maximum 3 person) or rent a bicycle around Rp50,000 per bike per hour. These 3 Gilis are also nice for diving, but not for surfing. the best place for surfing is actually at the southern part of Lombok Island named Gerupuk Beach, nearby Tanjung Aan. last but not least, don't forget to try Gili Gelato - the homemade and fresh ice cream in Gili Trawangan.

what else?

oh ya, Malimbu Hill! the place where we can view those 3 Gilis

wow! seriously clear water... can you see those 3 Gilis?

the right photo looks different, right? cause i uploaded in my insta. that's why

ok, quick facts. 3hrs fly from KL. there's no time different between M'sia time and Lombok time. for those who need to apply the Visa on Arrival, there's VOA counter at the airport and they will charge you @USD35 per person. we had our lunch at Grand Royal Resto (nearby Praya Airport) and dinner at Taliwang Restaurant for the local delicacies such as Taliwang Chicken, Bebalung, Pelecing Kangkung and Beberok. FYI, the local people loves to eat super hot and super spicy food. the spicier the better.

talking about the local people; previously most Malaysian especially Malay parents, very scared with Lombok guy who works in Malaysia and tend to 'kidnap' their daughter and brought them back to Lombok. kidnapping is truly their culture. and according to the local guide at the Sasak-Sade Village, that's why their houses are very small with no room and no window. so that the father can easily monitoring and protecting their own daughter. and the house's floor which was made from cow/buffalo dung (seriously) and mud were built for the woman only while man will sleep outside the house. due to time constraint, i skip to visit the Sukarare hand-weaving village. next time, babe

if you are looking for some souvenir in Lombok such as Lombok coffee, t-shirts, sweets, etc; i highly recommend you to shop at the Oleh-Oleh Lombok Shop and Gandrung Oleh Oleh T-Shirt shop. even though the price is fix (harga pas - no bargaining), it is still 3x cheaper than those at Art Market Senggigi. the Art Market opens from morning till around 8pm; while the Oleh Oleh Shop open up to 10pm.